Sometime Around Midnighr
by Cryssallis
Summary: "And so it starts sometime around midnight" Ministry events were never very fun, especially not when your ex had a date.


Percy downed another glass of firewhiskey, having lost count of how many he had had sometime around midnight. Normally he loved these Ministry events, it was the perfect chance to network, which was necessary to move up in a government career. This time though he hated it. It was the first time in four years he had to come to one of these events alone. Instead of being on his arm, his now ex-girlfriend was dancing with some dark haired, bulky guy. She looked tiny in comparison, like a fairy. He could practically hear her cheerful laugh while her dance partner twirled her around the center of the floor, her white tulle skirt flying out around her.

The song reached its end and he lost sight of her somewhere in the crowd. Probably for the best. I could really do with another drink right now. He stumbled through the crowd over to the bar, desperate to drink away the thought of her. In his distraction though he failed to see the girl standing right in front of him until he bumped into her shoulder.

"So sorry, so sorry, wasn't watching where I was going." He mumbled, watching the ground spin beneath his feet.

"It's fine. How have you been Percy?" It was her. He'd recognize her voice anywhere, he still heard it in his dreams.

"Her-Hermione. Hi." He tried to right himself, not wanting to appear to be some drunkard. "I've been good, good. Busy with work. You know? How about you?"

"Some things never change. Oh, my date's waving me over I better go. It was nice seeing you." And just like that she was gone. He continued to stare at the space she had been standing in until he heard one of his brother's voices addressing him.

"What's wrong with you Perce? You look like you've seen a ghost?"

"N-Nothing George. I'm fine." He struggled to keep his voice steady. There was no need for anyone to know how much seeing Hermione here affected him, and besides she seemed to have moved on just fine.

"Is that Flint dancing with 'Mione?" George exclaimed, looking surprised at the two dancing together. When he saw Percy flinch, he instantly apologized, though his older brother just waved him off.

"I'm going to get another drink." He walked away from his brother and over to the bar, needing some time to be alone. While he waited for his firewhiskey his mind started to flicker through memories.

‐--

It all started the September after the battle. All of the Weasley children were out of the house, well all except for Percy. Unfortunately, with the changes the ministry had been making Percy could no longer afford the flat he had been renting, so back to the Burrow he went. He wasn't alone at the Burrow however, since Hermione seemed to be living there as well. He didn't know why she wasn't back at Hogwarts or living with her friends, but at least he wasn't alone.

Being the only two at home, Percy and Hermione ended up spending a lot of time together, not that he minded of course. He had come to learn more about Hermione beyond just being one of Ron's best friends and they had more in common than he would have guessed. If she was his age, he could imagine they would have been instant friends at Hogwarts. And although he wasn't ready to admit it to himself yet, he was starting to fancy her quite a bit.

It took him 6 months to finally get up the nerve to ask her to dinner, and a week after that to make sure she knew he meant it as a date and not just as friends. He was surprised she had said yes, but it had started the happiest four years of his life. Their relationship wasn't perfect, they both worked too much, but they had fought to make it work. And it did work pretty well, until suddenly it didn't.

He could still tell you the exact moment it went wrong. They had been at the Burrow visiting for dinner. Although they no longer had the giant family dinners as often, they still tried to visit once a week.

"So, Hermione, when are you two going to make it permanent? Even Ron finally pulled his head of his ass and married Luna, we thought you would at least beat him to the altar?" Ginny asked while they waited for Molly to bring out the food.

"I don't know if we are going to get married Ginny. I mean we already live together why do we need to actually have a wedding?" Percy answered when he saw Hermione look uncomfortable, thinking it was at the idea of getting married. But boy was he wrong.

"I don't feel so well I need to go. Gin tell your mum I'm sorry." The words rushed out of her mouth before she quickly apparated out of the house. He was just staring at the spot his girlfriend had vanished from when Ginny reached out and smacked him.

"What are you waiting for? Go get her and apologize for being a prat."

He had apparated back to their flat, expecting to find her sitting in their living room but it was empty. That's when he heard the crying coming from their bedroom. She was never much of a crier, so it was a shock to see that it had affected her so much.

"Hermione? Can I come in?" There was no response, so he slowly opened the door and entered the dark room, going by memory to find his way to their bed. "What's wrong love?"

"If you don't know what's wrong you should just leave." She muttered through the tears, shifting farther away from where he had settled on the bed.

"I'm sorry I really don't. You seemed fine then Ginny mentioned the wedding thing and you just fled."

"Well what else was I supposed to do? I just found out my boyfriend doesn't want to marry me. I feel like such an idiot."

"It's just a piece of paper love. Its not that big of a deal." And with that he had driven the nail into the coffin of their relationship. In the coming weeks they had slowly drifted apart until eventually Hermione told him she was moving out.

\--

He was so lost in his thoughts he almost missed the DJ announcing that the event was almost over. All around the room people were saying their goodbyes before heading outside to the various apparition points. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw a head of brown curls he would recognize anywhere. The firewhiskey had obviously managed to ruin his common sense, and he was walking over to where Hermione and that guy were standing by the door. He reached his hand up to his neck, removing the chain he always wore hidden under his shirt and removed it, balling it up in his fist. There were people staring at him as he stumbled his way through the crowd but he was determined. Finally he managed to stumble his way over to his goal.

"H-Her-Hermione. This is for you." He held up the chain which was holding a simple but elegant engagement ring so she could see before blacking out.


End file.
